Sam Townsend
Sam Townsend(close to 30-years-old) was an African American man murdered in 1879 by a Peter Leach (27-years-old) in Lumberton, North Carolina. Events Sam Townsend and Peter Leach and they and their families were living in a house together by January of 1879. The two were constantly suspicious of the other cheating with their wives. They were not hostile with each other until the night of 6 January 1879. Night of January 6 On the night of January 6, 1879, they had decided to have a party at their home with other members of the African American community they lived in. Everything was going well that night until Sam and Peter began to argue possibly about the alleged affair that Sam and Olive Leach were having. Sam had left the home during the argument and Peter followed behind him with his gun. Peter then pulled the gun out and shouted: "Do you mean it?". He then shot Sam in the thigh near the groin. Sam was taken to a physician, but his injury was fatal. They were only able to stall his death for three days. Peter It took around four weeks to arrest Peter. He claimed that he wasn't doing anything to avoid the arrest. On February 1, 1879, he was arrested in the bar room at the Irvine Oxendine. He was taken to trial and found guilty and was to be executed for the murder. While in jail Peter's wife 21-year-old Olive came and brought him a ginger molasses cake on September 11, 1879. Peter ate a large portion of the cake and shared it with fellow prisoners. Peter was in pain and frothing from the mouth and the others who ate the cake had also gotten sick. Olive had poisoned the cake and this left Peter paralyzed and hardly able to speak. Execution On September 24, 1880 Peter was to be hanged. He had regained his speech by this day. He though whe as still paralyzed. He claimed to have repented his sins and was not scared to die because of his trust in the Mercy of God. Because Peter was paralyzed at the time he had to be hung in a chair instead of standing. He was not automatically killed when he was hung. His neck did not break and it took him 11 minutes to die. On September 24, 1880, Peter was set to hang. He was able to speak by this day and claimed to repent his sins and was not scared because of his trust in the Mercy of God. He was still paralyzed and was hung in a chair. His neck did not break and it took 11 minutes to die. News For all news on Sam Townsend, see here. External links Legal Executions In North Carolina and South Carolina: A Comprehensive Registry, 1866-1962 by Daniel Allen Hearn Pg 28 Category:1879 murders Category:1870s murders Category:1870s murders in the United States Category:1879 murders in The United States Category:1879 murders in North Carolina Category:1870s murders in North Carolina